Means for producing preaddressed envelopes



2,184,362 MEANS FOR PRODUCING PREADDRESSED ENVELPES 4 E. C. SAUERMAN Dec. 26,1939.

4 sheets-sheet 1 Filed Jan. 31, 1958 QNNI,

NWN

E. C. SAU ERMAN Dec. .26, 1939.k

. MEANS Fon PRODUCING' PREADDREssED ENvELoIPEs` Filed-Jan. 51, lss 4 sheets-sheet 2 www ..5

Dec. 26, 1939. E. c. sAuERMAN MEANS FOR PRODUCING PREADDRESSED ENVELOPES Filed Jan. 31, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet `f5 l l lJlll i N Y A ll y 4 v M ,z l

Dec. 26, 19329.l E. c. sAuERMAN `l u 2,184,362

MEANS FOR PRODUCING PREADDRESSED ENVELOPES I Filed Jan. 31. 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Dec. 26, 1939 UNITED STATES' PATENT OFFICE z ,i84,36z MEANS Fon rnoDUclNG vrniilinmtnsslili ENvELoPEs Emst C. Sa'uerman, Chicago, lll.v Application `January 31, 1938, serial No. 187,842 1 claim. (ol. sis-s1) The method'is particularly valuable to large.

mail advertisers who heretofore have purchased their envelopes unaddressed and have been obliged to apply to each individual envelope either by individual typewriting, hand vaddressing, or addressing machines the name and address of the recipient. This addressing of envelopes in large quantities constitutes a substantial item of expense in a large advertising campaign.

`My present invention aims to provide envelope users with addressed envelopes at a oost very slightly in excess of the cost of unaddressed envelopes, so that a major portion of the expense of addressing the envelopes and all of the time and annoyance of so doing is saved to the envelope users. The cost of addressing the envelopes in accordance with` my invention is very much less than the cost of applying thev addresses with a' :in-addressing mafl typewriter, by hand, or. with v chine, any of which methods involves, an additional handling, an additional operation and an additional operator. Inaccordance with my method the names .and addresses are applied.

while the envelopes are being manufactured and during their travel through the envelope making machine, so that no"additional handling of or operation upon the envelopes, the'blanks or the web from which they are formed is necessary in applying the names and addresses there- .to. In other words, the addressing of the enand constitutes velopes becomes merely another operation in their manufacture which lis performed as the envelopes, blanks, or web progress'through the machine by which they are manufactured. The combination with`an envelopeA making machine of addressing means operating simultaneously and synchronously with the other mechanisms of the machine is, so far as'I am aware, novel an important feature of my in. vention. I

` A method similar 'in some lrespects to the present and an article produced thereby are disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 174,050, led November 11, 1937.

For the purpose of facilitating an understandving c' my invention, I have illustrated on the accompanyingdrawings somewhat diagrammatically the manner in which my novel method may be practiced together with means for carrying the same into eiect.

Referring to the-drawings; .5.

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view through an envelope making machine in which I have incorporated an address applying mechanism for r'carrying out my improved method;

Fig. 2 is a similar view in which the address m applying mechanism is located at the rear of, instead of in front of, the folding mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary View looking toward the left at Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to'Fig. 1 showing anl5 other mechanism for applying addresses to en-l velope blanks;

Fig. 5 is` a View corresponding to-Fig, 2 show-A ling the mechanism arranged for applying the addresses to the folded envelopes.

Fig. 6 is /alongitudinal sectional view of a machineequippdV to apply the addresses to the v web from which the blanks are later formed.

web illustrating- Fig. 7 is a. plan view of the the operations performed thereon;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 6 showingv a method of applying addresses to a web being fabricated into window envelopes; andV Fig. 9 is a similar view illustratingthe appli- -cation of address slips to anv imperforate web 30 from which envelopes are produced. g In accordance withvthe plan contemplatedby my invention, the envelope user furnishes to the manufacturerthe names and addresses of the recipients to whom the envelopes containing the A desired mailing matter are to be sent. 'Ihe envelope manufacturer reproduces this list by means of a special typewriter upon ya strip of paper or the like and by the use of a special carbon paper faced against the back of the strip 40 when the names and addresses are written thereon such names and addresses appear in reverse on the back of the strip. A similar result is attainable with a typewriter upon which the letter characters are. reversed. This strip, which is known as the master strip or printing strip, is designated in Figs.-1 to 3 and 6 of the drawings by reference character 6. The front of the strip Y upon which. the addresses appear as they are y written upon the typewriting machine is' disposed 50 downwardly in Figs. 1 and6, and the back of the strip upon which the addresses appear in reverse veyor I5 equipped with dresses are written upon the strip in spaced relation, so that when the printing of one name and address is taking place there will be no smearing or smudging of the adjacent addresses on the strip.

The master or printing strip when made up on the special typewriting machine is wound from one roll onto another, and the roll upon which it is disposed when completed is indicated in Figs. 1, 2 and6 by reference character 1. 'I'he back of the strip or printing face is faced outwardly on the roll. Y

An envelope making machine of any standard or preferred construction comprises a table or bed 8 along which the paper or other suitable material from which the envelopes are to be formed is fed to the various operating mechanisms. In accordance with the disclosures of Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, the envelope material has been previously cut into envelope blanks and the addresses are applied are folded in Figs. 1 and 4 and to the folded blanks or completed envelopes in Figs 2 and 5. Figs. 6 to 9 disclose the application of the addresses to the web in predetermined spaced relation before the'web has-been cut into blanks, the spacing being such that an address will appear in proper position on each blank land the completed envelope formed therefrom.

Since my invention is concerned generically with the preaddressing of envelopes as a step in their production, and irrespective of whether the addresses are applied to the web before it is cut into blanks or to the individual blanks after they have been cut and either before or after they have been folded, that area of envelope sheet material utilized in the production of a single envelope and whether it be in web, blank or envelope form will be herein designated as a unit Referring for the present to Fig.A 1 wherein the unitsto which the addresses are applied consist of previously cut blanks designated by reference character 9, these blanks are fed along the table to a blank folding mechanism designated generally by reference character il and comprising a series of feed rollers l2, aseries of cooperating feed rollers l3,- and folding plates Il for turning over the aps of the envelope.

In accordance with my invention, I have incorporated in amachine of this character mechanism by which the names and addresses furnished to the manufacturer and printed by him upon the strip of paper or the like, as previously explained, may be transferred or applied to the envelope blanks or units as they travel along the envelope making machine. A chain conblank feeding pins Ii is trained over a sprocket wheel I1 xed on a power driven shaft I8, over a freely rotatable sprocket I9,n and over a sprocket 2| fixed upon shaft 22 which carries a' roll 23 over which the blanks travel. A segmental presser portion 2l of a companion roll 25 driven at the same speed as roll 23 is intermittently brought into cooperative printing relation with the successive blanks as they travel along the bed to apply an address to each in the following manner..

The printed strip of names and addresses 6` is trained fromv the roll 1 over the roll 23 and onto a take-up roll 26, which is intermittently actuated by feed mechanism of any preferred type to present the names and addresses on the strip successively into position to be transferred from the strip onto the lower face of the ento the blanks before they q instance, if an advertising campaign velope blank 9 as the blanklis pressed against the strip by the printing portion 24 of roll 25 while the strip 6 is backed up by roll 23. The simultaneous travel of the rolls 23 and 25, a

blank 9, and the strip 6 at the same linear speed` will produce a clear transfer impression from the strip 6 onto the face of the blank 9, so that the name and address is thereby applied to the blanks while they are traveling through the envelope making machine, thus obviating any further handling of the blanks or the performance of any address applying operations. To facilitate the transfer of the impression onto the material of the envelope unit, such material is preliminarily moistened by an application of alcohol or other liquid through the medium of an applicator 20 illustrated as comprising an applying roll running in a well.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 the rolls 23 and 25, instead of being mounted ahead of the blank folding mechanism, are mounted in the rear thereof and vertically reversed soA as to print on the upper instead of the lower face of the unit. In this instance vthe blanks have been folded and fastened to produce a complete envelope 21 which is delivered by the feed rolls 28 from the conthe master strip upon a duplicate strip which is then cut transversely into slips each bearing a name and address. These slips are then pasted or glued to the faces of successive envelopes as they travelaiong the machine.

'I'his form of the invention is particularly advantageous Where a number of mailings are required to each of the addressees on a list. In such instances a number of duplicate strips are printed from the master or printing strip so that each of these duplicate strips furnishes a complete set of names and addresses for each mailing. For

' contemplates the sending of a half dozen successive pieces of literature to each addressee, six duplicate strips will be made `from the master strip and one of these duplicate strips will be used in each complete mailing series. The duplicate strips are printed from the master or printing strip by 'running the two strips simultaneously between pressure rolls with the back -of the master strip pressed against the duplicate strip, so that the names and addresses are transferred in succession to the duplicate strip.

In Fig. 4 of the drawingsthe machine includes, as in Fig. 1, a bed 8 and the folding mechanism Il including the feed rolls I2 and I3 and the folding plates I4.

The duplicate strip which has been made from the master or printing strip, as above explained, and upon which the names and addresses have been printed from the master strip in spaced apart relation, is placed in the v'envelope making machine. The strip is designated in Fig. 4 by.

Simultaneously withV the 33 pasta revolving cutter $8 `by which the strip is. severed transversely midway between the addresses appearing thereon into individual slips 31 each bearing a naine and address. From the cut- "ter 36 the slips'are fedin succession by .a belt conveyor 3 8 and a roll 39-into` the holding jaw 4l of an applicator roll 42.` This roll, which. rotates in a clockwise direction viewing Fig. 4, carries the slips past the gumming roll 45 by whichadhesive is applied to their outer surfaces and carries each slip into contact with the lower face of an 'en velope blank 9.` Pressure roll 41 cooperating with roll'. I2 presses the slip and blank firmly together, causing the slip to adhere to the face of the blank with the name andaddress exposed `to .view on the face of the envelope. When Vthe completed envelope with the naps folded and gummed in the usual manner is delivered by the envelope making machine, the name and address of the recipient isalready imposed thereon, so that 'the envelope when lled is ready for mailing.

In Fig. I haveillustrated the same principle of addressing lthe envelopes by applying slips-to the faces of completed envelopes as they emerge from 'the envelope making machine, each slip bearing a name and address and being severed from a duplicate strip printed from the master or printing strip, as previously explained. In this instance, the applicator roll I8 and the pressure roll 49 are located at the rear, instead of in front,

of the folding and other mechanisms of the machine. In other words, when the envelopes 21', completely folded, gummed and dried leave the forming machine, they are'delivered between the rolls 49 and 49 and an address slip 31 carried bythe holding jaw 52 of the applicator roll 48 past the gumming roll 53 and into contact with the face of the envelope is iixedly applied to'each' envelope. The roll v'33 of the duplicate strip is,

in this instance,.mounted above the table 3i of the machine instead of below, as in Fig. 4. The

strip feeding mechanism, the cutter and associated mechanisms are similar in structure to those disclosed -in Fig. 4 but are in reversed position.

Inthe embodiment of my invention illustrated in Fig. 6, the addresses are applied to the envelope units while they are still in the form of a continuous web before being-severed into blanks.

In this instance, the web 55 is fed from a roll .56 over the bed 8, past ,themoistening applicator andbetween therolls 23 'and 25 where the addresses are applied'from the printing strip 6 to the lower faces of the uncut units substantially in the manner heretofore explained in connection with Fig. 1.

. After receiving the' addresses in spaced relation, the strip is subjected to the' usual fabricating operations consisting of the formation ofthe notches 51 (Fig. 7) by the notching roll 58, the scoring indicated by 59 (Fig. 7) by the score roll 6I, and the cutting or severing on line 62 by the cutter 63 -to produce individual blanks 9. which are then folded by the folding mechanism Il, as

previously explained in connection with Figs. 1 and 4.

Fig. 8 exemplifies a method of producing pre- I addressed window envelopes by which address slips are applied to the inside of the envelopes so as to be exposed to view throughthe windows, the application of the addresses 'being effected while the units are still in sheet or web,form.

lIn this embodiment, the web 55 is fed over the bed 8, as previously, but before reaching the vslip applicator roll 48, each unit is subjected to the it may be desirable to dresses into individual addressbearing slips 31 and applying such strips tothe upper faces of the uncut units. which faces become the inner faces of the completed envelopes, issubstantially identical with that described 'in connection with Fig. 5 and consequently requires no further elaboration. It should be noted, however, that the appiicator mechanism and the window cutting roll are so located and relatively timed that each address slip is accurately positioned over a previously cut window so as to be visible therethrough in the finished product.

' After the application thereto of the address slips, the web is notched by'roll58, scored by roll V6I and severed by cutter 63 into blanks which are folded by the folding mechanism Il,

all in a manner previously indicated in connection with` Fig. 6.

n In accordance with Fig. 9, the address slipsv are applied to the lowerfaces of the units while still Ain web form so that they are located on the outsideof the finished envelopes instead of on the inside, as in the method of Fig. 8.

In this instance, the web 55 is fed over the bed as previously. 'Ihe window cutting mechanism is, of'. course, eliminated and-the applicator rollV is positioned beneath /instead of above the bed.

The notching, scoring, cutting, folding and otherv requisite mechanisms are in conformity in all substantial respects with the disclosure of Fig. 8.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that I have devised a method and apparatus for producing preaddressed envelopes by which the names and addresses may be applied to the envelopes during their manufacture either by printing or impressing the addresses directly upon the envelopes or by applying to each a slip of 'paper or the like upon which the address appears.

In either instance the application of the addresses to the envelopes occurs during the manufacture` f of the envelopes and prior to their delivery from the envelope mahng machine, ,thus obviating ad.

dition'al handling of the envelopes and the necessity of separate addressing operations. rli'he time required in the production of an envelope so preaddressed is no greaterthan that required to produced a nonaddressed envelope, since the addressing is done simultaneously with and in synchronism with the operationsperformed in making the envelope. As previously explained, the `addresses may be kapplied to the envelope units when they are in either the web, blank or folded condition and, before orafter they are gummed and may be applied to the top or bottom',l

back or front of the envelope, as desired.

The word envelope ,has been used4 throughout this application in a. genericsense to designate anarticle to which addresses are applied, and is intended to include not only mailing envelopes but cartons, wrappers, and other containers which preaddress in accordance with my invention.

The details and sequence of the steps performed in carrying out my method, as well as the struc# tural details oi the mechanism illustrated and -'described, may obviously be varied within considerable limits without departing from'the scope of my invention as defined in the following claim.

I claim:

In an apparatus for producing a succession ofl mailing envelopes each provided with an individual address and ready for the reception of 75 l mailing matter, the combination of means for advancing units composed of envelope material in an uninterrupted movement, means for forming said material into individual envelopes during such uninterrupted movement, and mechanism for applying an individual address to each of said units before delivery from the machine, said mechanism comprising means for advancing a messes strip of material carrying a series of individual addresses arranged thereon and means for transferring s aid addresses from said strip'to the successive envelope unit during the uninterrupted travel of said the machine.

ERNST C. SAUERMAN.

in spaced relation units through 6 

